Hick requests Superfund listing for Pueblo’s Eilers area

By peter roper
The pueblo chieftain

Published: January 28, 2014;Last modified: January 29, 2014 07:30PM

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has sent a letter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency asking that the Pueblo Eilers neighborhood be put on the national Superfund list to have areas of lead and arsenic contamination cleaned up in the South Side community.

The letter, dated Jan. 21, should mark the beginning of a process puts the Eilers neighborhood on the list this year, targeting it for cleanup with federal money.

City Council President Sandy Daff was cautiously optimistic about the governor’s letter, which emphasizes that Eilers residents want the cleanup to be as fast as possible, with close involvement of a community advisory board.

“I would be happier if the letter put more emphasis on some concerns, such as educating residents about addressing the health risks, but it does reflect a number of our concerns,” she said Tuesday.

EPA and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment have been urging City Council to request the listing for nearly two years.

Some council members, such as Daff, and property owners in the Eilers neighborhood had resisted listing, arguing the Superfund label would undermine property values for the duration of the cleanup, which will likely take years.

Pueblo County commissioners got involved in the process last year, noting they also could request Superfund listing for the neighborhood.

The two governments reached agreement to request listing in December, after additional soil and blood tests in the area showed a continuing problem of lead contamination for some families.

“This is just the start of a process that we hope will closely involve the neighborhood residents in fixing this problem as quickly as possible,” said Commission Chairman Terry Hart.